According to a Minnesota Daily report last week, Tina Marisam — the University of Minnesota’s Title IX coordinator — discussed new training procedures for residence hall community advisors to address sexual misconduct. She argued the training will cover student concerns and provide information to CAs on what resources students have access to on campus.

The involvement of the school’s equal opportunity and affirmative action office (EOAA) in the new CA training initiative is a very welcome and important move. Former CAs on campus — some of whom were MSA members — felt that current training protocols do not adequately equip CAs on how to address cases of sexual misconduct.

This interaction between EOAA and Housing and Residential Life will ensure that CAs are more comfortable reaching out to the resources on campus. It will also ensure that there is a suitable network of people to help students who are seeking resources.

In a time where issues surrounding sexual misconduct have garnered more visibility on campus, focusing on residential halls is a way to educate students about campus resources earlier on in their college career. We hope the new CA training will have a positive impact on residential life and help CAs ensure that first-year students are being conscious of their decisions and the impact of those decisions.

CAs are a vital way to disseminate information on resources, and their frequent interactions with underclassmen could have long-lasting impacts.